DIY Lantern Ghosts

My kids are beyond excited! Plus, I am feeling very accomplished since I bought their costumes at the beginning of the month rather than waiting until the day before like I typically do. Please tell me I am not alone here? Surely you wait until the last minute too? You know, when there is nothing left except a Care Bear or Strawberry Shortcake costume. So, this year, I totally deserve the Mother-of-the-Year award since not only do we have our costumes, but we have pumpkins! In case you missed the pumpkin story, you can read that one here.

We still have to carve our pumpkins, but that will have to wait until a few days before so we don’t end up with moldy pumpkins.

So lately, I have worked hard on trying to think of decorating ideas that are easy for anyone to do. Today’s Halloween decorating idea definitely falls into that category…EASY!

DIY Lantern Ghosts…

Here’s how I made them…

Materials:

Two different sized lanterns

Stiffy by Plaid

Mod Podge: Outdoor

Ribbon

String

100% Cotton Premium Cut Wiping Cloths 10″x 15″

Outdoor LED lights

Step One: The first thing I did was get several of my premium cut wiping cloths out (you can find these at any home improvement store in the paint section). These cloths are perfect for this project because they are thin and light weight. They are also already cut to the perfect size making this project even easier!

I poured out some Stiffy (fabric stiffener made by Plaid) into a shallow bowl.

Step Two: I dipped one end of my cloth into the Stiffy until it was saturated. (The other end was left untouched so that it will flow in the breeze.)

Next, I gently draped the stiffy covered end over the top of my lantern.

I continued doing this with each cloth.

I ended up using about 5- 6 cloths on each lantern. It is totally up to you how much coverage you want, so you may use more or less.

Step Three: Leave it to dry for a few hours. (Or be impatient like me and pull out your blow dryer!)

Once the product is dry, the entire surface will be stiff.

Step Four: Using safety pins, I attached a few more cloths to the underside of the lantern. Again, you can add a lot or a little. It just depends on the look you are going for. I only used two.

Step Five: I cut out a ghostly face out of black paper, and used my Mod Podge for outdoors to glue it on to my ghost. Once it was glued in place, I gently went over it a few times to seal it. This product is great since it is meant specifically for outdoors. I won’t have to worry about my ghost losing her face in the wind and rain!

Step Five: I tied an orange bow to each one… after all, in a house of all boys, some things need to be girls, and if that means my ghosts will be female, then so be it!

Finally I tied in a little LED light that can be turned on and off at the pull of a string, and then I hung my ghosts up in our tree outside.

I cannot tell you how many pictures I took of these two!! They were seriously messing with me! I have no doubt!

They would spin and turn and face each other, but they WOULD NOT FACE ME! No matter where I moved to take a picture, they would turn the opposite way.

In this picture, I’m pretty sure they are plotting which way they will turn next…. I’m pretty sure.

But, eventually, they cooperated, and even gave me this wonderful shot…

I’m pretty sure the one on the right is practicing her “Booooooooo!!!”

I love them!!! My little ghostly twins! I can’t wait to see them all lit up tonight! If you follow me on Facebook, I’ll be sure to post a pic!

Want some more outdoor decorating ideas from Plaid? Check out these other great ideas…

**This post was written on behalf of Blueprint Social and Plaid Crafts. Product and/or compensation was received for this post, but all opinions are entirely my own.

My name is Claire and I am behind the blog... The Rustic Pig. I am a wife, a mother to 2 boys, and I just might be addicted to Craigslist. I love to buy antiques, paint them, and give them a chance to be loved again! Please feel free to pull up a chair and stay for a while. If you ask a question or leave a comment, I will be sure to get back to you as soon as possible!

About Me

My name is Claire and I am behind the blog... The Rustic Pig. I am a wife, a mother to 2 boys, and I just might be addicted to Craigslist. I love to buy antiques, paint them, and give them a chance to be loved again! Please feel free to pull up a chair and stay for a while. If you ask a question or leave a comment, I will be sure to get back to you as soon as possible!